TY - JOUR
T1 - Molecular characterisation and evolution of the hemocyanin from the European spiny lobster, Palinurus elephas
AU - Kusche, K.
AU - Hembach, A.
AU - Milke, C.
AU - Burmester, T.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements We thank J. Markl for the excellent working facilities, J.J. Beintema for his advice, P. Hähnel and M. Jawerka for their help with cDNA cloning, and J. R. Harris for critical reading of the manuscript and correcting the language. The antibodies against the P. interruptus hemocyanin were kindly provided by J. J. Beintema and H. Decker. This work is supported by grants of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Bu956/3+5). The nucleotide sequences reported in this paper has been submitted to the EMBL/GenBank Nucleotide Sequence Databases under the accession numbers AJ344361 (PelHc1), AJ344362 (PelHc2), AJ344363 (PelHc3), and AJ516004 (PelHc4).
PY - 2003/6
Y1 - 2003/6
N2 - The hemocyanin of the European spiny lobster Palinurus elephas (synonym: Palinurus vulgaris) is a hexamer composed by four closely related but distinct subunits. We have obtained the full cDNA sequences of all four subunits, which cover 2275-2298 bp and encode for native polypeptides of 656 and 657 amino acids. The P. elephas hemocyanin subunits belong to the α-type of crustacean hemocyanins, whereas β- and γ-subunits are absent in this species. An unusual high ratio of non-synonymous versus synonymous nucleotide substitutions was observed, suggesting positive selection among subunits. Assuming a constant evolution rate, the P. elephas hemocyanin subunits emerged from a single hemocyanin gene around 25 million years ago. The α-type hemocyanins of P. elephas and the American spiny lobster Panulirus interruptus split around 100 million years ago. This is about five times older than the assumed divergence time of the species and suggests that the genera may have split with the formation of the Atlantic Ocean. The application of the Bayesian method for phylogenetic inference allows for the first time a solid reconstruction of the evolution of the decapod hemocyanins, showing that the β-subunit types diverged first and that the crustacean pseudo-hemocyanins are associated with the γ-type subunits.
AB - The hemocyanin of the European spiny lobster Palinurus elephas (synonym: Palinurus vulgaris) is a hexamer composed by four closely related but distinct subunits. We have obtained the full cDNA sequences of all four subunits, which cover 2275-2298 bp and encode for native polypeptides of 656 and 657 amino acids. The P. elephas hemocyanin subunits belong to the α-type of crustacean hemocyanins, whereas β- and γ-subunits are absent in this species. An unusual high ratio of non-synonymous versus synonymous nucleotide substitutions was observed, suggesting positive selection among subunits. Assuming a constant evolution rate, the P. elephas hemocyanin subunits emerged from a single hemocyanin gene around 25 million years ago. The α-type hemocyanins of P. elephas and the American spiny lobster Panulirus interruptus split around 100 million years ago. This is about five times older than the assumed divergence time of the species and suggests that the genera may have split with the formation of the Atlantic Ocean. The application of the Bayesian method for phylogenetic inference allows for the first time a solid reconstruction of the evolution of the decapod hemocyanins, showing that the β-subunit types diverged first and that the crustacean pseudo-hemocyanins are associated with the γ-type subunits.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0037932784&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00360-003-0338-8
DO - 10.1007/s00360-003-0338-8
M3 - Journal articles
C2 - 12664090
AN - SCOPUS:0037932784
VL - 173
SP - 319
EP - 325
JO - Journal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology
JF - Journal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology
SN - 0174-1578
IS - 4
ER -